Warmth in the Darkness
by NovaGirl
Summary: An exchange student from Japan brings more than just her suitcase to the Chan clan as music, psychics, and the Senshi all start flooding into town! Based off an RPG that I did with Ice-chan. R&R!


Warmth in the Darkness  
Chapter 1: Get Ready!  
  
I need to write an epic. And then I remembered....the RP with Ice-chan! All that potential...well now, I'm going to use it. This fic is dedicated to her. Even though I hate her guts. Anywho, onto the fic. I own Kumiko. I do not own Jenn Wyatt, a few bits of text which shall be seen later in the fic, the beginnings of the plot, the songs that I may use, excluding "Losing You" and if I do use it, "Lovers Paradigm". I wrote those myself. Nor do I own JCA. But did you know that JCA is also the name of a female singer in Europe? When I was in Italy I heard her song "I Begin to Wonder". It's awesome. But I'm getting off topic. R&R. The more reviews, the more inspired I become!!  
~*~*~*~  
Ah....Jackie Chan.  
Less a man than a hero, less a hero than a simple boy in love.  
The riddle puzzles me still.  
However, this is not his story.  
This is the story of the woman who loved him with all her heart.  
And suffered for it.  
May she rest in peace.  
Or not rest at all....  
Fate debates her destiny still. Many lives are to be changed by its decision.  
But it is not my calling to choose.  
Only to tell her story as I see fit.  
This is the tale of Kumi-chan.  
Listen well, one and all....  
It may be your only chance.  
~*~*~*~  
The gavel went down on one of Tokyo High's many desks- this one was in the History room.  
"This session of the Supernatural club is now in order!" The President beamed at the small group of girls that made up the weirdest club on campus. The Supernatural Club's sole purpose was to investigate weird happenings all around the world. Many of the members themselves partook in them, getting involved from anything from ESP training to reading tea leaves.  
And the item on today's agenda?  
San Francisco, U.S.A  
On a referendum last session, it was voted weirdest city in the world.   
After all, where else could you find giant fake donuts rolling down the street, sunken cruise ships that didn't stay sunk, and aquariums that were raided for an oddly-shelled tortoise?  
"Alright team! We're all here to show our research!" Yosho nudged his glasses up again, nervous in his back seat.  
"Um....what was the research on again, Yagami-sempai?" A growl escaped the throat of the President.  
"A way to get one of us to San Fran, baka! How else are we to discover the secrets of these oddities?!" Yagami-sempai was renowned for her hair-brained schemes. This was to be her greatest. Imagine, discovering the truth behind the mysteries! The stories for the paper! The...well, everything!  
A hand went up in the crowd-Yagami recognized it to be that of Yui. A smart girl, one of the best in the group. Maybe because she was so nosy.  
"There's a talent competition in the juku. The winner gets to stay in San Francisco on exchange. But here's the thing...you've got to write a song and perform it to boot." Yui frowned distastefully at that. Intelligent, sure. But Yui knew as well as anyone she had the singing voice of a crow.  
But then...who could do it?  
Hotori Yagami was in a fix.   
Her eyes scanned the club members...Yosho-nope. Fuuma? Nope. Yui-no way Jose! The members were all in a state of total attention, all waiting to see who the lucky one would be. Exchanges were highly regarded-resumes LOVED THEM.  
Kumi Masamune just yawned.   
Heads whipped around like links in a chain, each one in perfect time with the next.   
Upperclassman Yagami grinned.  
Kumi blinked.  
"What?"  
~*~*~*~  
Weeks passed, and Kumi worked. The song was composed quickly-she wasted no time. Anything to get away from her mother...  
But the lyrics....Argh, those lyrics seemed so unattainable!  
//Deep breaths. Just relax, Kumi.//  
The Supernatural Club needed this. The stories were becoming repetitive-Sailor Moon might have been Kumi's idol, but...the stories were all the same! The youma ALWAYS went after the mirror, the mirror was NEVER the right one...  
She glanced down at the score again. The Spanish guitar part was perfect, the piano and violin sections flawless....where the heck were the lyrics?  
It was then she experienced the strange sensation known as inspiration.  
And she wrote.  
It was no surprise when the acceptance letter arrived three months later.  
~*~*~*~  
Captain Black bit his lip. It seemed like making requests of Jackie was becoming a pastime of his-and he hated that. Jackie rarely wished anything of him...but Captain Black was in a real pickle this time.   
"Jackie...?" He peeked his head in the doorway, seeing Jackie and Jade in another one of their training sessions. Jade always looked so attentive...the Captain shook his head. He was getting soft. Jackie turned around and smiled.  
"Good morning Captain." Black gestured his head to the door.  
"Can we talk?" Jackie knelt beside Jade, said a few quick words, and patted her head before walking beside the older man.  
"What's the matter, Gus?" He took a deep breath.  
"Every year the American government has an exchange program with the Japanese people. And this year...the winner's staying here in San Francisco. The responsibility of finding accommodation has fallen on our shoulders. Normally this wouldn't be a problem--" As they walked, sounds of anarchy drifted from Kepler's lab, usually accompanied by many a crash and explosion "But money's getting tight. The bigwigs are getting mighty suspicious about what's been going on recently- the break in didn't help any. So I was thinking..." Jackie put up a hand.   
"Let me guess-you want the girl to stay with me." Gus sighed-this did not look good. But then Jackie cracked a grin.  
"I don't see why not-after all, how much do you ask of me?" Captain Black grinned in return, and the two walked in relative silence to the debriefing room.  
"So, tell me more about this girl." Jackie stated as the door closed gently behind him.  
"Her name: Masamune Kumiko. Age: 19. She goes to Tokyo High, and has quite the reputation in Tokyo as an up and coming musician. She studies kendo and kyudu."  
"What's that?" Captain Black checked his notes quickly before replying to the question.  
"Japanese archery."   
"I see....Anything on her personality?" Jackie practically begged-this was his summer, after all, and even though he was all for hospitality between nations, showing a teenager around town wasn't really how he wanted to spend it.  
"Teacher garble. Just the normal things, really."  
Jackie frowned.   
//Come on now Jackie...It won't be SO bad. Maybe Jade can actually make a friend within two decades of her age. You'll just have to make the best of it.//  
As fate would have it, the best was to be easy to make.  
Unfortunately....  
The worst was to be too.  
~*~*~*~  
I'm very nervous about this fic. I've never taken on something like this before. But I'm willing to give it a shot. R&R. And I promise that there'll be more plot next time, with Kumi's arrival, and much more!   
The translation of the words:  
sempai: an upperclassman. The suffix can mean "mentor" but it's a hazy translation  
youma: the demon of the week.  
And that's the itty-bitty piece of Japanese for the week! ta-ta! 


End file.
